Prayer Rug

Since reading, The Life of Pi, and loving it, I have decided to take on some Hindu traditions. Don't freak out I think they are legal for Mormons. I took a colorful rug that was by my backdoor and made it my prayer rug. The Hindus pray five times a day and they face a certain direction (I forget which way). I am just going to face my bed because that is where I am going as soon as my prayer is over, maybe sooner. Don't worry I'm not going to roll up my rug and pack it to school with me and pray outside my trailer (portable). My bedroom is in the middle of a year long makeover and some of the carpet is gone so I kneeded (get it?) some padding for my knees.

I am also going to paint my bedroom orange which is the Hindu color of survival. Do Mormons have colors? Maybe beige?

Editors Note: I stand corrected. Apparently I am making up my own religion. Hindu/Muslim/Mormon. It is the Muslims who pray 5-7 times a day and they face towards Mecca. Sorry to all my Hindu friends.

One Step Closer

We started our kitchen remodel back in July. We knew it was going to take while but that was ok with us. I don't think the kitchen had been remodeled since the house was built in 1957. We found some nasty stuff.

Three weeks without running water in the kitchen was a long time. I had to do dishes the old fashioned way, in the tub. Just kidding. but I did do them in a bucket in the bathroom. We tried to eat out a lot but that gets old after a while. Notice the tile missing? Guess where our next remodel is? Not the bathroom, but it is on the list.

Stevie Wonder and his helper hard at work. Looks like Steve is doing all the work and Boy Wonder is observing.
The wire that tried to kill me.



Third time is a charm...We had to order the countertop three times from Lowe's. The first time it was wrongly measured. Kind of our fault, but kind of not. They ate the cost. They said they didn't have to but they would to keep our business. (I think everyone is desperate in this financial crisis.) The second time it came with a big gaping hole. The guy brought it out with his hand over it, like we wouldn't notice. Then he told Lew that he could fix it with a little epoxy, etc. Uh, no! They would take off $200. Uh, still no. Their fault. They reordered and said they would deliver it for free! Ok, we'll take that one. It was finally delivered Saturday and Stevie Wonder was able to install it. Isn't it beautiful? Makes me want to cry. Not really.

I had to clean it off already to take pictures for the blog. Four months without a countertop and I wanted to fill it up with STUFF right away. Next we have to put in the floor and then do a tile backsplash. Stay tuned.

All That Jazz

This morning was Jensen's first jazz band concert. We were lame parents and couldn't get a camera together to take pictures for this bloggable moment. This seems to be her passion, so I think we will have a plethora of opportunities.

I wasn't able to attend because I had my el-lame-o ESOL class. I'll try to think positive. We have a really fun group at our table. We all have about the same desire to be there and agree on the amount of effort to put into the assignments, which is minimal. I got in a good nap during the movie. We go to the Yalaha Bakery for lunch which is scrumptrulescent.

I finished reading "The Glass Castle" by Jeanette Walls. It is a fascinating memoir of a deeply dysfunctional family. Personally, I thought it was a good read. A lot of it hit home, like the anarchist ideals of the father who would do the skedaddle when times got rough. If you are from dysfunction of any kind, then you will get a laugh or two out of the tale. If you are a crier you might cry. It has some strong yet, realistic language so I wouldn't recommend it for the younguns'

Tonight I signed up to be an indexer for familysearch.org maybe it will be my new addiction. It certainly won't hurt. I wonder if there is a 12-step program for people addicted to family history? Hmmmm.......

Parker is 17!

Who knew that Lew and I could produce such a beautiful child?

We thought our child might look like this

When Parker was born I remember thinking that if all babies were guaranteed to be this good, I would have a 100. (I'm glad they don't come with that guarantee.) I still would take a 100 Parkers. The things I like about Parker are: He's intelligent, he's an independant thinker, he makes me laugh, he's creative, he's athletic, and most important of all he's my baby boy.

Crazy Pills

A quote from Mugatu on Zoolander, "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"

Lately, I feel like either I am taking crazy pills or everyone else is. I have to really stop and think, "Am I crazy or is everyone around me crazy?" Some unbelievable things have been going on and I question my sanity.

So I thought I would check in with all of my friends and see if the same thing happens to them occassionally. Take a few minutes to answer my poll.

P.S. People on anti-depressants, please dont' get offended. I am one of those people, too, so I feel I am certified to ask the question. I mean crazy like "What in the tarnation is going on?"

Guess Who's Back?

Finally! Back to blogging.

Our computer crashed...again! This time it was the motherboard and not worth fixing, but he did manage to save our brand new hard drive and back it up onto our newly purchased tower that we finally talked ourselves into buying. Maybe one day I will finish the Nauvoo trip and the SLC/Provo trip.

Then there is the whole minimalist goal that I had at the beginning of the summer. I didn't realize that once you wrote down a goal that the universe would throw it into warped speed for you. I am well on my way to being a minimalist on the inside and out. My appendix suffered a hostile takeover and were pulled out of me with no remorse whatsoever from the attending physician.

When I went in today to have the staples removed (decided not to go "goth") I was told, "Ok, Mrs. Clayton you're done. There is no charge for today. It's a package deal with the surgery."

Me: "What? I didn't even present a coupon before I ordered." "What other combos do you have? I'll have the number 5, gastric bypass with a side of radical hysterectomy, and can I have the side salad instead of fries? And go Large. Thanks."

Jensen's Bad Day

This is hilarious. Make sure your sound is on. It may take a while to download but it is so worth it.